Americans Are Working Out More Than Ever. Why Aren’t We Losing Weight?

Americans Are Working Out More Than Ever. Why Aren’t We Losing Weight?

Americans Are Working Out More Than Ever. Why Aren’t We Losing Weight?

Greatist News examines and explains the trends and studies making headlines in fitness, health, and happiness. Check out all the news here.

Photo by Aleksandra Flora

Health enthusiasts all over the country can breathe a collective sigh of relief. According to the results of a new study, the number of Americans getting sufficient exercise has increased steadily over the last few years. But don’t break out the celebratory ice cream just yet — unfortunately, that same study also found the number of obese Americans continues to climb.

But it’s too early to conclude that physical activity has nothing to do with weight management. Here’s why the link between exercise and weight loss is more complicated than we might want to believe.

What’s the Deal?

The study, led by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), looked at statistics that included the number of Americans who reported sufficient physical activity between 2001 and 2009 in addition to obesity rates during that same time period. (The researchers defined “sufficient physical activity” as the American Heart Association's recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate physical activity, 75 minutes of vigorous physical activity, or the equivalent combination each week.)

According to their results, the number of people getting the recommended amount of exercise increased significantly between 2001 and 2009, and the increase was greater for females than for males. In the most active U.S. counties, the number of people exercising sufficiently rose by up to 17 percent for males and 18 percent for females. At the same time, obesity rates continued to rise throughout the country, and only nine U.S. counties saw (small) decreases in obesity. Time to cancel our gym memberships and toss out those skinny jeans — right?

Why It Matters

The conclusion here isn’t that exercise has no impact on weight loss or (more importantly) on overall health — there’s simply too much evidence pointing to the health benefits of working out. In fact, we can’t really come to any definite conclusion based on this recent study’s findings. We can only speculate some potential reasons why increasing rates of physical activity seem to have had a limited effect on obesity trends.

What this study may point to is the crucial role of diet and nutrition in any wellness routine. In fact, new research suggests that people who think exercise is the most important factor in weight loss have higher BMIs than people who think diet is more significantLay Theories of Obesity Predict Actual Body Mass. McFerran, B., Mukhopadhyay, A. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Psychological Science 2013 Jun 5. Epub ahead of print..

Another potential reason for the IHME findings is the fact that the people exercising more might not have been the same people getting heavier. The study didn’t look at obesity or physical activity in individuals, but instead gathered averages from different U.S. counties.

The Takeaway

The only thing we can say for certain is that these study findings are no reason to quit working out. Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for so many reasons — it boosts heart health, lowers blood pressure, helps beat stress, and may help reduce anxiety and depression, all factors that arguably matter more than the number on the scale. Those looking to lose weight should note that exercise alone might not do the trick, unless it’s coupled with healthy eating habits. It might also be important to be aware of how much we eat on days that we work out, since exercise might increase appetite in some people. Ultimately, these study results are only proof that researchers still have a lot of work to do when it comes to figuring out how physical activity affects our general health.

Do you find exercise helps you manage your weight? Let us know in the comments below or tweet the author at @ShanaDLebowitz.